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The Government Accountability Office said Monday that significant success with human capital reform has been achieved, but that federal personnel officials must ensure that progress is applied consistently across all agencies.

"We are fast approaching the point where 'standard governmentwide' human capital policies are neither standard nor governmentwide," GAO said in a recent report (GAO-040976T). "We believe that human capital reform should avoid further fragmentation within the civil service, ensure reasonable consistency within the overall civilian workforce, and help maintain a reasonably level playing field among federal agencies in competing for top talent."

According to GAO, some agencies are far ahead of the pack, such as the Homeland Security and Defense departments. When Congress created DHS, lawmakers granted broad powers to shape the personnel system with a focus on performance pay, workforce flexibility and a streamlined appeals process. Last year, lawmakers also allowed the Pentagon to reshape its civilian workforce along many of the same guidelines.

GAO officials did not suggest slowing the pace of reform at Defense or DHS, but rather speeding reform elsewhere.

"It would be both prudent and preferable to employ a governmentwide approach," the report said. "Employing this approach is not intended to delay any individual agency's efforts, but rather to accelerate needed human capital reform throughout the federal government in a manner that ensures reasonable consistency within the overall civilian workforce."

In February, a panel of civil service experts made similar recommendations, calling on Congress to step in and control the reform process or be faced with a patchwork of personnel and payroll systems.

"Have we opened the door to each agency doing its own thing?" asked panel member Leon Panetta, who served as Office of Management and Budget chief in the Clinton administration. "What's going to happen--mark my words--everybody is going to go cut their own deal" with Congress.

COMMENTS

• This is a crazy recommendation. DHS is still a proposal- Dod hasn't even made a proposal yet and the government is again recommending full steam ahead based on untried and unproven theories. I guess opening up the boilers of the Titanic through a iceburg field doesn't teach anything. It is folly to wish the government to follow blindly DHS and DoD given the sad state of what is being discussed at these Departments vis a vie employee empowerment. But who can argue with an administration bent on destroying the federal civil service, especially one given its missions by God. HR Specialist GovExec.com reader Posted July 26, 2004 9:02 AM
• The alleged human capital progress and standard capital reform are code for pay being frozen. Pay increases in this system are or will be contingent on funds availability. S593 wants the agencies to make up pay increases from existing funds, AKA operating funds. This advance is simply a masked method of making government employees subject to the same pressures as the private sector with the outcomes probably similar, early pay compression and hoards of temporary workers (oh yes do not forget he contractors). The politically connected and favored win out now but with these advancements in policy only a select few will earn a fair wage. Mr. Walker of GAO has said he hopes that worker pay will be equitable over time - how long is that? His hopes will be little comfort when funding remains unavailable for years on end. Recall the law about parity with the private sector - that has never happened because of economic limitations - and Mr. Walker hopes for equitability. It does not remain to be seen what will happen since it has already happened. GovExec.com reader Posted July 22, 2004 9:06 AM